


Spilled Stuffing and Neatly Sewn Seams

by SilenceWanderer



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-06-28 03:25:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19803748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceWanderer/pseuds/SilenceWanderer
Summary: Collection of fics written for the Enstars Shipping Olympics.





	1. Teatime (Zodiac AU)

**Author's Note:**

> Background: Zodiac AU that follows the species given in the zodiac-themed scouts. They all live together in this big housing area. Like Fruits Basket, sort of, but without the hug mechanic and manipulative god. 
> 
> Sorry my writing is kind of... meandering. Hopefully it’s not too OOC. 
> 
> This was written for the Enstars Shipping Olympics! Team Midomika has been a joy to work with.  
> The other members’ entries will be linked here if they post theirs anywhere public.  
> Mei's fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806571  
> Full entry: https://esomain.dreamwidth.org/9622.html  
> In terms of the art featured in this chapter, it is a collaboration; I drew the lineart, and Ray (@fiveeccentrics [twitter]) colored it. The opposite was done with the other half of the collab in our entry.

Midori loved afternoon tea time with the horse. 

It wasn’t like he adored tea or anything; if it weren’t a house staple in part due to the rabbit, he probably wouldn’t go out of his way to drink it. It was hot, flavorful leaf water that either stung his tongue with bitterness or was nearly so mild he couldn’t taste it. 

It was probably the atmosphere of their time together that he liked most. They had a favorite spot at this point; the side of one of the many wooden walkways that connected parts of the zodiac compound, facing the pond where the sheep tended to doze, the bridge where the tiger preferred to sun. An open space unmarred by tall trees that could block out the view of the faint daylight moon that sometimes greeted them. 

He thought on this as he sat there against the sun-warmed wood, breath escaping in a sigh. It was still summer, but all could tell it was starting to lose its grasp; as Midori continued to breathe, aware of each one, he could taste the slight nip of autumn threatening to intrude on the garden’s peace. Across the field, the sheep raised his head with a frown, possibly aware of the same thing. 

It was then that he heard the faint clinking of cups, raising his head in anticipation as the horse came into view, juggling the cups and what seemed to be a bag of senbei. “‘m sorry for makin’ ya wait, Midori,” he called, softly enough to avoid echoing around the inner courtyard of the compound but loudly enough that the dog could pick up the cheer and excitement within, a sound that made his smile inescapably curl into embarrassing, fond wideness. 

“No... you didn’t,” he replied, scooting a bit to the right to allow the horse to settle down beside him, cups and all. “What kind is it today, Mika...?”

Even within the compound long-shared by the 12 of them, it wasn’t guaranteed that they would all be friends. He tried to avoid the snake, who was far too strict about his waking hours. The monkey was also loud, but for a different reason that Midori wasn’t entirely sure could be chalked up to species. But unlike their titles, used both in reverence and in casual gossipy conversation by humans, names were personal; names belonged to them alone, not just the animal they embodied. A name was blessed. 

Midori was glad he could call Mika by name, and even more so due to the delight that he seemed to show when he did, faintly, a softening of his eyes and smile. He would call him that every time he could, relishing in that expression, if he weren’t far too embarrassed to do so. He settled with leaning back and clamping a hand onto his wayward, swaying tail. 

“‘s chamomile,” Mika replied, carefully scooting one of the cups towards Midori with what seemed a mix of expectation and nervousness. The cups were part of the special set they all shared, kept in the wooden display case someone had hammered into the wall; small and white ceramic with a blue-painted cartoonish rendition of their species. Midori loved these cups mostly for that reason; seeing that irrealistic rounded creature that was supposed to be a dog somehow soothed him. He didn’t used to see or use the cups as much before he had started these tea meetings with Mika; the kitchen where they were kept was also where at least one of the others tended to be at any given time, whether cleaning, cooking, or eating, and he didn’t often wish to meet them when they had free time, lest they drag him into something troublesome. 

But he didn’t mind it here with Mika. 

He took a sip of the tea, recoiling just a bit at the heat and cursing his periodic idiocy as he resisted the urge to stick his tongue out and let it cool in the breeze that was starting to pick up around them. Mika seemed to stifle a laugh, blowing lightly on his own cup as if modeling before drinking a bit himself. Pride mildly injured, Midori turned away a bit before blowing fervently on the tea and taking a slower, more calculated sip. He could actually taste it this time, a strange earthiness mixed with a bit of bitterness and some added sweetness that attempted to cover it up. It wasn’t really his favorite, but... it wasn’t terrible, especially with the addition of the honey. He took another sip, satisfied.

He could sense Mika watching from the side, though he was occupied with his own cup, so he finished his gulp and put the cup down by his side. “...It’s not bad,” he affirmed, taste still strong within his mouth. “...I like that you added the honey.”

Mika nodded, eyes focused as if taking mental notes. Midori was a bit moved that he’d actually think about his tea preferences, but he figured with a touch of fondness that it was like him to do so. He could be clumsy, but he was thoughtful; he’d been called an airhead before, but sometimes he was surprisingly perspective. He genuinely _did_ like spending time with him. It was a nice thought, when he usually found others so troublesome to be with. 

As another breeze blew past, the sky already tinging orange, he could feel Mika shiver a bit next to him. The outfit he tended to wear wasn’t as warm (or intricate) as Midori’s, and he shot him a concerned glance that the other deflected with a smile. “If you’re cold, we can stop for today...” he tried, looking out across the yard to at least not have to see the results if he put his foot in his mouth somehow. “If you caught a cold, you’d probably become one of the rooster’s experiments... or the rabbit’s...”

A snort of laughter was the apparent response to his clumsy worries. “Yep, I know. Colds aren't too serious, though. ‘s alright.”

“Colds _can_ be serious,” Midori muttered dubiously in reply, but dropped the topic, hesitating. Could he just... “Um...” 

Mika tilted his head.

“At least...” Midori shifted closer, mustering all his strength to not, you know... leave Mika cold, he rationalized. “Er...”

“Nfufu, I getcha.” Mika scooted more towards him, grasping the hand that was already laid on the walkway. “‘s warmer like this, right? Ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout me.”

Midori was, at that moment, approximately in the same realm of existence as the stone statues of their species that existed near the entrance to the compound, but the still-living part of him supposed this was a good thing. 

Mika, seemingly less frozen, changed his line of sight to somewhere past Midori, up into the sky. “...’s real pretty, isn’t it?”

Midori turned towards the setting sun, the fiery clouds, the rustling grass, the painted hills outside the compound. He turned towards his companion, eyes alight with two different takes on how would be best to reflect the beauty of the sunset, the bashful flush across his face, ruffled hair and long, brushed tail shifting as he leaned towards the sunset, trying to see it more clearly. 

“...Yeah.” Midori replied, softly, turning back to the sunset and savoring the warmth against his hand. “It is.”


	2. Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Following a prompt of characters in each others’ casual clothes and their reactions. Split into two scene segments since I couldn’t figure out how to fit both occurrences in one scene.  
> Time period 1: Current Yumenosaki year.  
> Time period 2: Some years in the future. A universe where they moved in together into an apartment.  
> The outfit Mika is wearing in the 1st one is the “cute” shirt from Berry Happy Day’s unbloomed, and the shorts from the bloomed. The outfit Midori is wearing in the 2nd one is a modified for daily use version of the Salty Sorbet bloomed outfit.  
> Might add a reference of how both look on the characters when I have time to draw them.  
> Might also clean this up a bit later, but I think I’ve fussed over this enough for now.

Midori yawned as he put yet another bundle of carrots onto the pile they were already arranged into on the shelf. It was disgustingly early, but if he didn’t restock the shelves before opening time at the greengrocer’s, his parents would have his head. He blearily checked the time on his watch. Two hours left, which wasn’t bad when he only had the eggplants and apples left to restock. Gaze sweeping across the store, he hoped that the early customers wouldn’t be too rowdy; if he was blamed for some misplaced produce because of them... 

The thoughts died as he heard a creaking from the side of the store, and he cringed, wondering if he was going to have to face a scolding this early in the day, but the only one who appeared was Mika, muffling a yawn with his hand and... wearing some of Midori’s clothes. Midori almost tripped over his feet whipping to face him, face becoming a confused flush in an instant, before he remembered that the other had slept over last night. Trying his best to casually pick up the carton of eggplants, he faced Mika as best as he possibly could, hoping he didn’t look like he felt, which was along the lines of an ungroomed hedgehog startled by sudden rain. “G-Good morning...” he squeaked. And immediately regretted it. How did he suck so much at speaking?

Mika, the angel, merely gave him an extraordinarily sleepy but still content smile. He looked a bit disoriented; his eyes kept slipping over the surroundings as if he was barely seeing them, and his hand was firm on the rail that lead down into the store part of the house. Midori’s “cute” shirt with one of his favorite pink rabbit mascots (well... to be fair, they were all his favorites) was just slightly slipping off his shoulders, and Midori’s first thought (after “Oh no, he’s somehow even _cuter_ like this”) was to itch to get him something else to put on over it; wasn’t he cold? 

Mika didn’t seem to notice his restlessness, merely rubbing at his eyes with one hand still on the rail. “G’mornin’, Midori-kun...” He yawned again, unable to stifle it this time, before gazing with still-unclear eyes into Midori’s. “Yer up super early, aren’tcha...? What’re ya up to?”

“Just restocking the shelves before the store opens up... Can’t leave the customers with nothing to buy...” Midori replied, shifting his line of sight to elsewhere in the store. He didn’t want to seem like he was staring. “Since I have to do this, I have to wake up super early... it’s a massive pain, but...” He sighed, glancing back down at the eggplants, and started to carry the box to where he needed to drop them off. “Since it’s early, you can go back to sleep. Sorry if I woke you up, bumbling around down here...”

Mika shook his head fervently in response, eyes clearing up a bit as the conversation continued. “Nah, ‘s not yer fault. Just woke up ‘n got surprised; the walls’re different here.” He gave said walls an apologetic glance. “But I can’t just go back t’sleep knowin’ yer workin’ away down here... can I help ya?”

“U-Uh,” Midori stuttered a bit in return, trying to push through his brain’s mild stalling as it tried to process the situation. “Y-Yeah, it’s just...” He gestures a bit awkwardly. Mika gives him a sleepy head tilt in return. “Your clothes...”

Mika looked down for a moment before flushing a bit. “Ah, sorry... ya said I could wear these last night since I forgot to bring anythin’, comin’ here so suddenly...”

“N-No, it’s fine,” Midori blurted in response, internally smacking himself for bringing it up that way. “J-Just...” He hastily put down the box and took off his own hoodie, hopefully reassuring enough in the fact that he had a long-sleeved shirt underneath. “...Aren’t you cold? You just got up, so...” He held out the hoodie, trying to ignore the mild chill of the refrigerators keeping the produce cold. Mika stared at it a little dubiously, as if wondering whether to refuse or if it would take too much energy to do so, before taking the hoodie, draping it around his shoulders. While it was a whole other level of embarrassment seeing Mika holding the hoodie shut, near-snuggling into its fleece, he still had work to do, so he picked the box up again. Mika, snapping up from the hoodie, gave him a sleepily determined look and nodded at the box. 

“‘m not cold, so I can help.” 

Midori nodded, gesturing to the other box he had left. “You can take the apples? They’re over there-” He gestured again with his head at the shelf that had a variety of fruit near the middle of the room, and Mika took it, heading off to lay the apples neatly in their area. Midori only watched for a bit before shaking his head, ready to finish.

But he spared another glance back at Mika’s shuffling around and humming, moving the apples and other fruits around. It wasn’t like he _liked_ mornings like this. He’d rather sleep in. But somehow, having Mika around made it better. It wasn’t like he wanted the other to feel so forced to come here, curling up in the spare futon and borrowing Midori’s clothes (...well, he didn’t mind the last part), but... 

...This kind of domesticity was nice, sometimes. 

Not that he’d admit it.

  


* * *

  


Mika stepped out from the bedroom, still ungroomed and fluffy from a night of doing whatever it was that lead to him waking up with his head completely under his pillow. Yawning, he swept some of the troublesome fluff out of his eyes before blinking at Midori, who was sitting in one of the chairs at the table they tended to start the morning and end the evening at. So it wasn’t his presence that surprised him; it was that he was wearing one of Mika’s more colorful outfits, a mix of bright lime and turquoise that he didn’t often have a chance to wear. 

He came up to the other and leaned down to nuzzle his hair, which led to a yelp of surprise from Midori as he turned around to see who it was. “M-Mika. Good morning...” It was a mildly confused greeting, but comfortable, and Mika couldn’t help but grin in response. 

“Mornin’, Midori.” He allowed a moment to pass before adding, “So, why’re ya wearin’ my clothes?” as he draped over Midori’s shoulders like a self-satisfied cloak. Privately, Midori was glad that Mika was so at ease compared to before, but this wasn’t really the time. He moved to look away just as quickly as he had turned to him before, embarrassment prickling at him like a particularly vindictive cactus. 

“Ah, well, you see...” he started, raising a hand to point towards the bathroom. “I realized all my usual clothes were dirty... so I needed to wash them, but...” His voice slowly decreased in volume as he continued until Mika couldn’t pick up the mumbling anymore. Midori’s bashfulness was eternally endearing, Mika internally knew, but it wasn’t like he wanted the other to be uncomfortable either. He poked at his cheek, smiling as Midori paused in his imperceptible muttering to look back up at him curiously. He loved Midori’s eyes, clear and teal like a jewel. So he closed his own, imperfect, and just enjoyed being close to him. Midori, maybe considering the matter dropped, merely leaned his own head towards Mika’s in response. 

The moment was broken when the washing machine made a sound and Midori moved to sit up, leaving Mika to grumble from the lost heat. “...I can get my clothes now,” Midori stated, shifting a bit as he tried to ease Mika off his shoulders. The other met his eyes just a bit combatively. 

“They’ll be wet anyway, y’know.”

“...”

Mika’s impish grin. “You can wear mine for a lil longer.”

A sigh. “I guess I have to.” 

There was a pause as Mika leaned in, still radiating mischievousness. “Don’ worry. It matches yer eyes!”

Midori’s embarrassed grumble and Mika’s accompanying laugh lit another morning for them in that house as they stood up, preparing to hang the wet clothes out to dry. It was victory to stand in that little apartment, look out the window from the little balcony, and feel nothing but content.


	3. Market (Royalty AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filling the royalty AU prompt. Maybe a little different than what was intended... but it’s dear to me nonetheless.  
> In terms of other characters who appear, Itsuki is named and Shinobu is intended but unnamed.

Midori peered out from the side of a stone wall, alert and trying his best not to trip over the too-lengthy cloak he had grabbed before beginning this badly-planned adventure that he was starting to regret. It had seemed like a good idea at first—he was still young enough that his family was dreadfully overprotective of him being among commonfolk, should he be assassinated, or kidnapped, or held for ransom, and all the like that he’d been lectured about too many times to count for every time he expressed some desire to actually go out on his own and explore the kingdom—but now, as he stood just before the loud, overwhelming crowd of people rushing in what seemed like chaos across the dusty stone streets, he wondered how hard it would be to go home and leave his town adventure for another day. It wasn’t like he was worried about being trampled; he was, to his eternal embarrassment, quite tall for his age. But if anything, that made trying to approach the festival even worse. What if someone recognized him? He curled a bit into his cloak. Maybe he really _should_ go home. 

It was then that his thinking was broken by a carriage that quickly rushed by him, the force of the wind nearly knocking him over into one of the passing townspeople. He managed a quick apology that was nearly drowned out by the crowd’s noise, and the stranger left him with a _hmph_ , not sparing him another glance, better things to get on with. Midori’s relief at this was cut a bit short as he realized he was closer to the crowd, now, and all its bustling, and he found himself being carried by the mass despite his efforts, like a fish struggling to swim against a current it wasn’t used to. He had nearly given up when a hand suddenly appeared, grabbing onto Midori’s wrist and dragging him off to the side. _I guess I really am getting kidnapped,_ Midori thought with dread as he moved, almost helpless among how little room there was on the main path. _I guess I should have listened to my parents, even though they’re usually just annoying..._

He felt himself break from the crowd and stood for a moment, panting and trying to gain his bearings, the hand seemingly gone from where it had been holding him. They were still somewhat close to the main path, but next to some kind of canvas; one of the stalls at the festival? It was a bit more shady here than the sporadically-covered sun of the day, and as he leaned back to brush the canvas, just to check if it was safe to put his weight on, it bent just slightly under his touch. _That’s a no, then..._

In his distraction, he failed to take into account the continued presence of the other person there, who spoke so suddenly that Midori nearly jumped. “Hey, y’alright? Ya looked real dizzy in there; what, never been to the market?” The voice was friendly and not too deep, not too old; not a kidnapper? Looking up revealed a shade-covered boy with a mass of messy black hair, and eyes of two colors... somehow. Midori had never seen anything like them; was one fake? No, they both seemed to move normally, and dilated more as the clouds took another trip to cover the sun. But then, how...?

The other squirmed, seemingly uncomfortable, and Midori hastily looked away before realizing he had just been asked a question before he had stared in the stranger’s eyes without speaking for a bit. Wow, that was awkward. Looks like even royal lessons on etiquette couldn’t fix an inherently awkward personality. But it wasn’t the time to pick at his faults now; he needed to answer. “Yes... I’m fine. Thank you.” He paused for a moment, thinking, before adding, “You’re right, though... I haven’t been to the market.” He looked back at the crowded street. “Is it always this... loud?”

The other laughed, which Midori met with just a bit of insult. He was serious! “Nah, ‘s not always like this. Just ‘cause the special monthly gatherin' o' sellers is around.” The other nodded, seemingly satisfied with his explanation. “Ya got caught in the crowd ‘cause ya weren’t used to it, huh? Ya lookin’ for anythin’ specific?”

Midori was going to refuse—seeing all this had already tired him out, really, and even if all that awaited him were lessons, he wanted to go home—but from the side of the canvas tent, he could see and smell so much even beyond the crowd, and he itched to be a part of it, if just for a moment. “I’m not...” he replied, hesitantly, mind whirring to try and properly calculate the words. “I’m not looking for anything... since I’ve never been here.” He sighed. He felt a bit bad, but the other seemed nice enough, and he probably wouldn’t see him again, anyway. “Do you think you can show me around a bit...? Just a bit, really,” he added hastily at the end. 

The boy hesitated for just a moment, looking up towards the sun, but nodded as he looked back at Midori, beaming. “I’d be happy to show ya around! The market’s a real cool place; lotsa crafts and food, ‘n everyone’s real friendly once ya get to know ‘em.” He reached towards Midori again, like before, but took his hand this time. He pulled him a bit towards one of the less-crowded paths before pausing and turning back to him. “Right, ya have a name? Might be hard to find ya if I don’t know what to call ya, yeah?”

Midori immediately stiffened. He didn’t plan this. Should he just...? “I’m, uh... M... Mi-...” He trailed off, inevitable anxiety bubbling in his stomach. It was a bit of a miracle no one had pointed him out by now, but maybe he just looked like some normal kid... Maybe with a name, everything would be—

But the other hadn’t seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary, merely smiling at Midori with an honesty that made him guilty. “Mi-kun, huh? ‘s real nice to meet ya! ‘m Mika! Our names are a lil similar, huh?”

“Yeah...” They kind of were, huh. “Nice to meet you too, Mika-san...” He looked out towards the street. “Where are we going?”

Mika made an exaggerated humming noise in thought. “I was thinkin’ o’ lettin’ ya just look around as we walked to see if ya found anythin’ ya liked!” He turned towards Midori, still grinning. “What do ya think ‘bout that?”

Well, if there was a time to learn to be flexible, it could probably be now. “Okay,” Midori nodded, holding tight to Mika’s hand. At least with a local(?) around, he wouldn’t get lost, even if the local seemed to be a rambunctious fellow, though thankfully not enough of a popular figure to be greeted by even the shopkeepers who looked up as they wandered past, perhaps hopeful for some buyers. Just in case, though, he shoved his cloak more over his shoulder, slouching a bit forward and pulling his hood over to cover his face. Maybe Mika assumed he was cold, since he leaned against him, or maybe it was just to avoid getting separated as the crowds thickened again, tending to crowd around different areas. Now, it looked like the food stalls, rather than things like pots and dolls, were the ones getting swamped by cheerful visitors. 

His stomach growled, and he burned from embarrassment. It must be lunch. A lunch that he would probably be missed at... he cringed a little. Mika looked back up at him from where he had been seemingly analyzing the crowd for an opening, looking a bit concerned. “If yer hungy, I’ll get ya somethin’,” he offered. “Ya have anythin’ ya want?”

Okay, now Midori felt _really_ bad. His family probably had more than this kid would ever see, considering the scale of the gatherings of various famous someones visiting the city, or some distant family coming to say hi. He tried to refuse, shaking his head and giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile, but his stomach (the traitor) growled again, and Mika laughed again in that way of his that Midori was starting to like. That lighthearted, honest laugh that crinkled his eyes and brightened his cheeks. It was a problem. 

Mika let go of his hand with the quickness of lightning and darted into the crowd, leaving Midori grasping at cold air and curling more in on himself among the crowd. It was stupid how someone he just met could already make him feel so warm and open to whatever new experiences this “market” (really, he could have sworn he was told there was a festival) could have for him. Without him, it felt like he was back to being pressed against that wall, drenched in his own reluctance. 

But the sudden cold didn’t last long as Mika popped back out of the crowd, carrying two apples and shoving some coins back in the bag that dangled by his side. Reaching Midori’s side, he took one of his hands again, placing one of the red apples that he had gotten in the other. Truthfully, Midori could’ve gone for something a bit more substantial, but he wasn't in a position to be like that right now, so he settled on thanking Mika, grasping his hand, and biting into the apple. He didn’t know if he just felt starving or what, but it felt like the best apple he had ever tasted in his life. He attempted to mumble this at Mika around a piece of apple, but was just met with a laugh from the other.

“‘s good, right? I dunno where yer from, but,” Mika took a bite of his own apple, chewing before he continued. “Those guys’re seriously the best. They’re growin’ apples right now, but they sometimes swap ‘em out for other stuff.”

Midori swallowed. “That’s nice...” he replied, softly, wondering where the food _he_ was so used to seeing was from. Was it from people like these? From farther away? He offered as much of a “thank you” as he could to the seller as they passed, moving on with their apples. It felt peaceful, crunching away at them, and before long he was licking at the core in a way that would probably mortify his etiquette tutors, trying to get the last taste before it was just seeds and the crunch around them. Mika was similarly done, and as the two looped back the way they came, leaving the cores buried in a patch of earth near the edge (was that _really_ okay!?), a familiar shout rang faintly above the crowd, and Midori stiffened, curling back into the hood which had slowly eased itself off his head as they were walking. 

“S-Sir!” the person shouted in a very clumsy, panicked attempt at not letting anyone know he was looking for anyone more important than some “sir” in the crowd. As they skidded to a stop in front of them, panting, Mika looked quizzically between the two.

“Ya know him, Mi-kun?” he asked innocently, not noticing how the person in front of them nearly choked at Midori’s apparent new nickname. Midori shot him a pleading look in response before turning to Mika reluctantly. 

“...Yeah. I... guess we got separated when we came here,” he tested, hoping the story would stick with Mika’s assumptions of him being some visitor to the town who didn’t know his bearings. “I... guess I should go with him...” His extreme reluctance was probably showing on his face. And if Mika looked at the one who had just joined them, he would see his desperation to the point of near tears, which Midori was already used to. 

“I-Indeed! Ta... um, this esteemed sir and I were separated among the people!” Oh, he really was nearly crying. “I was nearly buried by them, but thankfully I was able to spot you from a gap!”

 _It’s time to go home,_ his eyes said. 

_I know,_ said Midori’s in trepidation of all sorts of things. 

And so he turned back to Mika, lowering his head in a way that caused the shorter vassal who was watching them to gasp. “...Thank you for showing me around. Markets are really cool, huh?” His voice was wistful in a way that Mika couldn’t quite identify, but he withdrew, trying to keep upbeat despite his disappointment.

“Yep, I get it. I hafta get back to my own place, too.” He looked back at the sun’s position with a bit of a wince. “But...” He held onto Midori’s hands, looking up at him. “If ya ever come back, let me know! We’re over there, usually-” He pointed off towards the distance, near the row that had smelled of spices and clay when they had passed by. “So if ya ever pass by again, lemme know!”

“I’ll do that,” Midori sincerely promised, squeezing his hands before letting go. Sighing, he joined the vassal’s side, ignoring the looks of intense confusion that the other was sending him. “I’ll go back, so come on,” he told him, sullenly, before starting to walk back. Mika watched them for a bit, sighing, before jolting; right, his own schedule! 

Yelping, he ran back to the decorated tent near the end. 

The pink-haired man already there huffed irritatedly at him as he scrambled in. “What were you up to?” he asked accusingly, examining one of his textiles against the light (as if he hadn’t been doing so repeatedly for the past several weeks, looking for any possible mistake; Mika was well-acquainted with his habits). “I thought I said I expected you back before the sun reached the spire.”

“‘m real sorry, Oshi-san. Y’see, someone got lost as I was comin’ to where ya were, so I was helpin’ ‘em out til they ‘pparently saw someone they knew around ‘n went with ‘em,” he apologized, settling back into place beside him in their tent after a quick greeting to Mademoiselle, who was pristinely sitting as always in her case near the back. No way Oshi-san’d leave her alone back at the house, after all.

Itsuki looked up quizzically. “‘Someone’? Not a significant amount of people come to this town; should you not know the passerby fairly well at this point?” His voice was harsh, and Mika cringed; it wasn’t his fault that his memory was goddarn awful, really!

“‘m sorry, but I really didn’t know ‘im! He was tall ‘n had kinda shortish brown hair... nice tealish eyes like some o’ the jewels ya like, too.” He grinned just a bit, cheeks pink. “Kinda pretty! But he was real lost, see, ‘n kinda unused to the crowds, looked like. Maybe a rural lad?”

At some point during his description, Itsuki had stopped fiddling with the textile, fixing him with a gaze that was both curious, suspicious, and what seemed to him like a “please tell me you aren’t that stupid” kind of look. “So, Kagehira,” he began again, slowly, as if explaining to a child. “Tall, brown-haired, eyes like the distant ocean... did he not look familiar to you in the least?”

Mika thought hard— _really_ —but nothing came up. “Nah, sorry, Oshi-san. ‘s not ringin’ any bells.”

An exasperated sigh as Itsuki turned to rummage through one of the bags he carried with him, eventually bringing out a scroll, weathered from travel and use but not particularly aged. He unraveled it, looked disappointedly at Mika, and practically shoved it in his face. “Look.”

Well, there the kid was. Though he seemed younger in whatever he was being shown, it was definitely him. Moving back so his face wasn’t smothered in dusty paper, he cocked his head to the side. “Why do ya have a drawin’ o’ him, Oshi-san? ‘s he famous?”

If it was possible for Itsuki’s face to grow even more annoyed, it did. He let out a heavy, tired, “where did my life go wrong by taking on this idiot as an apprentice” sigh, and said, slowly, “A scroll from the kingdom, announcing the health of their formerly hidden second son. Rendition done by a no-doubt overworked fool who thought working for the castle would be better than scraping out a place for themself elsewhere. Midori Takamine, the younger prince. Do you understand now?”

Well, he’d like to say he understood, but it was taking just a bit to sink in. “Mi-kun’s a...” He yelped, almost jumping to his feet before Itsuki forcibly prevented him from doing so (and knocking down their tent in the process). “H-He’s a prince!?”

“Indeed.” The look Itsuki fixed him with now was critical. “I certainly hope you were nothing but entirely cordial to him. The inherent foolishness of some royalty aside, the family here has allowed us to obtain a permit to return here whenever we wish to sell our wares, so if you’ve done anything _foolish_ during your... encounter... with the prince, during whatever on earth he was in his district for instead of his repetitive, no doubt _stifling_ lessons...” The sentence grew so long that he had to pause his muttering for just a moment, but ended up just trailing off with a sigh. “You were merely guiding him, yes?”

Mika nodded furiously. “Y-Yep! Nothin’, uh, non-cordial here! He just got dizzy in the crowd, ‘n I showed him around a lil...” He looked down, suddenly nervous. “Uh, was givin’ him food bad? The apples ‘round here are real delicious, after all.”

Itsuki, already wound up, was absolutely ready to go on a lengthy tirade, so as he started, Mika let him. Meanwhile, he allowed his thoughts to drift, looking up towards the sky and it’s ever-flowing clouds. _Didn’t expect him to be a prince... that was a real shocker,_ he thought, eyes following one of the clouds as it trailed past the tent. Itsuki’s voice continued to ring distantly in the background. _But..._ He couldn’t help another smile. _Wonder if I’ll ever meet him again?_ The warmth of his hand remained like a stamp on Mika’s, and he pressed his hands together just a bit to match the slight squeeze of his chest. _...I’d like that._

And Midori, facing a lecture of his own from the towers, gazed down to the distant tents and silently planned his next escape.


	4. Ties (Soulmate AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filling the prompt of the writing version of the soulmate AU.  
> Some of Mika’s early situation might be a bit harsh. Avoid if necessary.  
> The “writing confusion” in this fic stems from the differences between ‘standard’ Japanese and Oosaka-ben. This is harder to properly convey in English, so I hope the specification of what I mean here is enough. But I am not a native speaker, nor even close to fluent, so if there are any disgustingly wrong geographical or other details, please feel free to correct me.  
> If any details about supposed favorites end up being incorrect with later canon information, I will fix them.  
> Some things in this do deviate from canon... it just happened that way. I’m just writing as I go, but the main differences so far are that Mika lives in an apartment alone where Yumenosaki is, and that he transferred in during his 2nd year...  
> This is probably the longest single piece I’ve ever written... sorry, it’s a mess. If I have time later I’ll likely go through and revise. It’s a bit rushed because it’s stupidly long and I ran out of time for now so I had to tie it up.  
> Team's full entry: https://esomain.dreamwidth.org/17769.html

The first time Midori received words from his soulmate, he couldn’t read them. 

Maybe they just couldn’t spell very well. That was probably reasonable; he was 10. Maybe they were also 10. 

It bore some resemblance to [hello], but... different. He squinted at it, then shook his head. Maybe he was being too critical. It would be nice if his soulmate could spell well, though. 

Soulmates were annoying, something his classmates wouldn’t shut up about and something adults would treat like something cute. When writing appeared, some people would show it off, especially if their soulmate had good handwriting. Some would hide it as others teased them. Midori had tried, too, to write to his own, but nothing else had ever shown up before now, so he’d wondered if he even had one. He didn’t really care if he did, even though people around him acted like that was weird. 

But looking at that shaky, unpracticed lettering that may have been [hello], Midori was curious. It had taken them a while. Why?

But rather than any of that, he just wrote a [hello] of his own back. Written the right way.

-

The first time Mika received words from his soulmate, he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

He had been sitting in the dark like usual. It was quiet in the house. He didn’t really know where his parents were, so he had been on and off sleeping, and then daydreaming for a bit, and picking up some bags and pretending they were enemies, and he was a superhero that he had seen on television once when his father had left it on and he had walked by. Then, in his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw marks on his skin; something he didn’t know about. Did he get dirty playing with the bags?

He rubbed at them, lightly at first, then more harshly as the marks refused to come off. “No,” he whimpered a bit, careful to be quiet as he crouched against the wall. “More monster marks? I don’t wanna be...” He stared at them, hoped desperately they would disappear, and then they did. Fading slowly to nothing like newspaper caught on fire, slowly fizzling into ash. His skin was clean again, but the dread didn’t fade, and he made extra sure to hide for the night. Monsters were bad, after all, and he didn’t want them to see more monster marks on him, things that made him weird. 

It was... a couple, few years later that he learned that those had been “words”, and that they had been from his “soulmate”. An explanation said with a smile so unbefitting of what he had known of them. 

“‘Least they’re not from bein’ a monster,” he said, still worried about this soulmate business.

“Ya never were,” she answered gently, reaching down slowly to pat his head. “Yer no monster, Mika-chan.”

That was hard to believe, but as he blinked up with his monstrous eyes, he wanted to pretend it was true.

-

In the following years, Midori had received more and more words from his soulmate. Sometimes even sentences. But the strangeness remained; why on earth were they writing things weirdly? Did they never learn proper endings? Did they even go to school!?

But regardless of that, and whatever his interest in it was, he still talked to them. While his continuing disinterest and occasional outright distaste for the phenomenon as a whole continued, they would eventually be forced together by the ~powers of the universe~, so it benefited him to get to know them to some extent, or at least be familiar with some aspect of them. 

[What’s your favorite color?] he wrote to them one day, on the usual place on his left arm. 

About a minute later, the response came. [I like a lotta colors, so ‘m not too sure, but green’s a real nice one.] And after a second, [What’re yours?]

Midori hesitated, not sure himself. [Orange, maybe...] he wrote back. He did like carrots; even if he didn’t feel that strongly about it, it was probably a good enough answer. And if they liked green, maybe they’d like his house, too, with all its vegetables. 

He didn’t receive another message after that; maybe they had something to do. So he flopped down onto his bed and sighed, wondering what was up with them. The idea struck him then, suddenly; he had seen that lettering enough to remember some of it, the certain ways his soulmate wrote some words. Grabbing his phone, he fiddled with it, typing in questions about those words and hoping for the best. 

Good news: His soulmate probably knew how to spell. They just spoke a different dialect. 

Bad news: His soulmate is all the way in Kansai!?

Dropping his phone beside him on the bed, he turned around, groaning. Really, how did the soulmate link even _work_? Hadn’t any scientists been bright enough to figure it out yet? Weren’t these things supposed to happen naturally? Happening to be in the same city, meeting during school, something like that; was the link trying to make him travel across Japan just to connect to them?

He let out a grumble of discontent. No way is he putting effort into travelling to someone he wasn’t even sure he wanted to meet. If the link wanted them together _that_ badly, it could figure it out itself. 

So it did.

-

Mika knew a couple things about his soulmate. Not that many; they didn’t seem that open of a person.

They liked orange, maybe. They liked mascot characters. They wanted to die? (He wasn’t really sure if the last one was intentionally told to him or if it was some sort of vent. He didn’t really want to ask.)

A good start, if nothing else. He wasn’t going to rush it. He felt sorry for them, being linked to a monster. 

He had stopped wearing an eyepatch over one of his eyes for a couple years now. Maybe it was because he was bigger now, just a bit more able to intimidate, but people left him alone more than they used to. Maybe they had just accepted that his monster blood didn’t let anyone kill him, even if they tried. 

But as he stepped into a town more active than he had ever seen, he wondered if it wasn’t monster-hunters who would kill him, but a car (why were there so many!?), or a crowd (how could so many people even fit in a square?), or... an onion? 

He peered down warily at the onion that had rolled into his path and that he had nearly tripped on, heart hammering. “Ya almost nearly killed me,” he told the onion, a bit miffed that after all this time surviving, it might’ve been a vegetable that did him in. 

“...I’m sorry... You can kill me instead...?” A voice offered out of nowhere, and Mika nearly squawked in surprise, jumping back and away from where he had been talking to the onion. Looking up, he saw that the source of the voice was a tall, tired-looking boy carrying a couple crates. He was dressed almost entirely in green (or so Mika thought before realizing that his pants were actually black, previously covered by a green apron until he bent down to pick up the onion), and had unruly brown hair and dull teal eyes that made him look like he just got out of bed an hour ago and was still extremely unhappy about it. Mika gulped, trying his absolute best to maintain eye contact while he really, _really_ wanted to leave. 

“...’m real sorry! I wasn’t lookin’ where I was goin’, see... um, did I hurt yer onion? I can pay for it if ya nee-...” Mika’s voice trailed off as he took in the absolutely startled, focused expression on the other’s face. He didn’t really like that expression. He grasped his shirt, trying to keep calm and refocus, stammering out a “S-Somethin’ up?” The other boy continued to stare, just for a few moments, before sighing and looking away a bit morosely. 

“...No. It’s fine.” He examined the onion closely but indifferently, as if practiced. “Who knows if we can sell it, but we can just use it... just a wash should be fine...” The slow, almost drawling way he spoke almost reminded Mika of his soulmate’s penchant for ellipses. He would’ve felt a hint of fondness if he wasn’t still a bit scared of the boy in front of him and what he was going to do with him. 

“S-So I can, uh,” Mika gestured past them, through the covered shopping district where he had speedwalked to try and escape the more-crowded outside streets, towards where his apartment was supposed to be. “...Go?” The boy hesitated, seeming reluctant, but nodded, putting the onion in the pocket on his apron. 

“...I guess. Just, uh...” He glanced at his arm, a bit uncomfortable. “...Where are you from? The way you talk...”

Mika’s cheeks burned a bit as he realized things in both positives and negatives. Here, it didn’t really look like strangers would care too much about his eyes... they hadn’t so far. But... the way he spoke stood out, didn’t it? But it was more comfortable to speak this way... He shifted from leg to leg, letting out a nervous hum. How specific did he have to get? “D-Down west a lil,” he mumbled. 

For a long moment, they just stared at each other for their own reasons. Then the other muttered an “Ok” and left, leaving Mika to finally breathe. 

_W-What was that!? Are all this place’s inhabitants like that? Man, hope they don’t bug me too much... ‘s already gonna be a lil nerve-wrackin’ without that._

Sighing, looking at the departing figure of the other boy into one of the stores that lined the street, he hoped he wouldn’t have to come back too soon.

-

All good things come to an end. And what Midori meant by that was that summer break had come to a close, and he was dreading going back to school, and even worse, going to a new school, and even _worse_ , accidentally being accepted into an idol part of the local school that he didn’t realize he was joining. Shouldn’t there be clearer markers on these kinds of things!?

His chest already felt heavy as he woke that morning, not knowing what to expect. Getting ready, walking to his new school since it was so close; it felt like every step filled him with ice, frost slowly creeping up his legs and arms and throat until it hurt to move, keep breathing, and walk through the massive gates of the school. This was where he would be for the next three years. 

The morning passed normally. Stiff entrance ceremony, homeroom, fairly normal classmates given the range of how weird classmates could be... he was used to all that from his previous school. It was the myriad of other things; dance lessons, vocal lessons, outfit testing, unit finding, overly-meddling seniors, just how massive the campus was... those were the things that tripped him up the most, and by the end the end of each day, he was exhausted. He hadn't felt his soulmate write to him, and he honestly didn't care to check in; as if he didn’t have enough to worry about, he had to fuss over someone he hadn’t even met?

The face of that boy he met near his house flashed in his mind, and he shook it away. As if the first person he met speaking that dialect would be his soulmate; Kansai had _tons_ of people. Sure, maybe he didn’t know why any of them would be here, but maybe he was visiting, or something! Surely, it wasn’t-

His thoughts died as he rounded the corner, stomach growling, and saw him right there, sitting among the flowers that decorated the space around the garden terrace. His hair was just as messy as the last time they saw each other, and his eyes, the same two colors he hadn’t fully comprehended before (he had been too surprised by the dialect), were trained on them, soft. A faint breeze stirred them, and he yawned, showing tiny fangs. 

_Am I hallucinating?_ was his obvious first thought. The second was, _I am_ way _too hungry for this._

He tried to pass him subtly, but his size and steps must have given him away as he walked down the path, and that boy’s eyes snapped up to meet his, seemingly in shock. So he did the most reasonable thing: run very quickly in the other direction, forgoing lunch, like a capable, smart person. 

_I need to work on that,_ he told himself miserably as his stomach’s incessant yelling amused his class for the rest of the day.

-

Mika stepped into his apartment that day feeling very nervous.

And very out of groceries, said his fridge. 

So far, he'd had two encounters with that boy. 

Once, the other had nearly killed him via onion. (No hard feelings.)

Twice... it was at the school he had transferred into after his caretaker had suggested it after hearing him sing, and as a way to get away from the weight of his hometown. To scrub himself clean of it. But more relevant to the topic, the other ran away from him then, acting like he’d seen a ghost. 

Why was he at his school?

 _And why’m I goin’ to see him?_ he thought to himself, regretting every step, as he made his way over to the covered shopping area. 

To be fair, it was the only place he really knew where to get produce from; sure, there were restaurants here and there, but they were expensive, and if he ever wanted to improve his awful cooking, he had to try to get some food himself. 

Maybe he should familiarize himself with places that weren’t so... dangerous and filled with onions. 

He checked his arm despite the lack of signal, just in case, but as was the case for the last few weeks, nothing had been written there. They were never the most chatty, but communication had basically stopped. Was his soulmate okay? Sick? Or worse, dead? 

He was in public, but the nervousness that filled him caused him to pause. Sure, he didn’t know him that well, but the thought of being linked to someone dead made him anxious in a way that caused memories to bubble up, hissing blackness blurring the edges of his vision. Sliding to the edge of the street against a wall so he didn’t block anyone’s way, he rolled up his sleeve as discreetly as possible, taking out a pen from his bag that he always carried around just in case. One was never sure when it’d become useful, after all, his caretaker had said when she had given it to him. His writing, a bit shaky; [Yer alive, right? Didn’t up ‘n die?]

It took a bit, but some heartbeats later, a lopsided message as if written with their non-dominant hand slowly began to appear. It was just a [Yep], like they hadn’t had time to answer properly, but it reassured him. With renewed strength, he continued walking to the greengrocery. Timid, intimidating residents or not, he still needed to buy some things. 

The door jingled quietly as he walked in, and the boy from before was indeed present among the others who milled around the store, picking out groceries, testing their firmness, and speaking amiably to the woman at the cashier desk. Seeing Mika enter, she momentarily detached from whatever conversation she was having to gesture to the boy, who put down the crates he was holding and dragged himself over with a dreading expression. He caught a couple words—“Midori” “newcomer” “help”—and despite the boy’s _extremely_ reluctant expression, he plodded over to Mika, face paling by the second. 

“Welcome to Greengrocer Takamine,” he choked out. “I-If... if you need anything...” He gestures dully to the produce surrounding them. “It’s... probably here.” 

“Thank ya kindly,” Mika replied, hesitating to look at the other before he went off to gather produce. The other avoided his gaze uncomfortably. But, well, if they were schoolmates... Mika cleared his throat a bit. “So do ya work here often?” 

The other met his eyes blankly. “I live here.”

Mika hadn’t played many games, only seen them in videos, but he was pretty sure this was when you chose the wrong story option and were doomed to a bad end. 

He tried to save himself just a bit. It wasn’t what he planned, but he _was_ looking for work, and at this point he just felt guilty for the whole situation, and maybe like this it’d make school less awkward if they ran into each other again? “...Ya hirin’ anyone? ‘m lookin’ for some part-time work, so...” His voice trailed off.

The boy shook his head fervently. The woman at the counter, in contrast, apparently hearing him, perked up and nodded. “We could always use some help!” she called, seemingly done with whatever conversation she was having before, beckoning Mika over. He nervously approached, and her eyes brightened curiously. “A Yumenosaki uniform! Are you one of Midori’s friends?” Behind them, the boy looked like he was dying of mortification. Mika was going to assume he was “Midori” just based on context and hope he wasn’t making some terrible mistake. 

“A-Ah, I don’t know ‘im too well,” Mika hastily replied before she got any ideas. He clutched his shirt lightly, wondering how to explain. “We’ve just run into each other before.” He looked back up at her. “Ah, but ya said yer open for help? ‘m open to work after school sometimes, y’see...”

“It’s mostly the family who runs this, so we don’t have many employees,” she confirmed, leaning on the counter as she spoke. “But it’s us who supply Yumenosaki with produce, so it makes sense to help Yumenosaki students find work, doesn’t it?”

...It did make sense. Midori(?) still looked like he was dying, though. 

“I’d be real appreciative if ya could,” Mika replied, though wondered, privately, what he was getting into. Sure, he was used to work, but change had always fazed him, and while quick to adapt, it was with some level of discomfort that he always had to crush for the sake of his work. There were a few benefits, though; a paycheck, the store’s relative closeness to his apartment and school... possibly befriending Midori was just a bonus. Face your fears, and all that. 

“All right.” She clapped her hands together. “We’ll figure things like your schedule out later, if you come back after hours when we can talk. For now, what’s your name?”

“‘m Mika Kagehira, 2nd year,” he replied, ducking his head. “Nice t’meet ya. I’ll do my best.”

Mika had barely expected to walk out with all the groceries he needed, let alone a job, but his spirits felt lighter as he exited the store. 

The only thing that bothered him was Midori’s expression as it tracked him across the store, troubled.

-

Some time ago, Midori’s soulmate had written to him, words tearful, [I hate my name.]

[Why?] he’d asked them. 

There was a long pause before they replied. [...People make fun o’ me for it.]

[I get that,] Midori wrote back sympathetically. [People make fun of mine too.]

Midori. The son of greengrocers. Ha ha. 

[Maybe someday, people won’t make fun o’ our names, or we’ll like ‘em instead...] His soulmate wondered, as if writing in a diary instead of to him. 

Midori couldn’t really imagine it. His name was dumb. But still, he wrote back [Maybe.]

That was a while ago. 

He opened his eyes and woke up to a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Fortunately, Mika wasn’t downstairs. He didn’t really know him yet, aside from the times they’d met, but he still wasn’t over the onion thing. There was also the issue of his dialect. He gritted his teeth a little in a grimace, faintly calling out a farewell as he exited the house. Given how Mika acted around him, nervously but kindly and with no analysis whatsoever, he probably didn’t have the same suspicions. 

...If he really, _really_ wanted to figure it out, all he had to do was write on his arm and watch to see if it appeared on Mika’s. But to some level, he was still scared. Even if they _were_ soulmates... so? It’s not as if they’d suddenly, magically become some lovey-dovey couple. If anything, it’d make him feel worse than he already did for his soulmate asking him if he was alive the day before. There wasn’t much media covering it, what happened to your writing if your soulmate died; did his think the writing would just stop? He had no idea himself. 

The thoughts carried him on his way to school, and he walked in tired, absolutely not ready for the day, his previous thoughts lingering throughout the morning despite him trying to focus on class. 

Project: Morbid Curiosity began that lunch. He walked slowly up the stairs to the 2nd year classrooms, giving himself the excuse of wanting to familiarize himself more with the layout of the school. He really only often found himself on the 1st floor, and rarely on the 2nd floor across the passageway connecting the two buildings where the seniors in his unit were, so in terms of the main school building, he hadn’t really examined the 2nd floor above his own, where the 2nd year classrooms and some clubs that he wasn’t a part of were. It was there that he saw Mika chatting with another upperclassman of his, blonde, that he hadn’t met yet. He was grinning so brightly that Midori almost regretted his plan. But... he couldn’t stop. If he did, it would be just him fixating on it for ages, which was really just a massive pain. The couple few weeks had been annoying enough already. 

Lingering as indiscreetly around the classroom as he could seemed to pay off as Mika said something, seemingly excusing himself, and exited the classroom. Midori plastered himself against the wall. Mika headed off in the other direction, humming, and Midori waited a bit before following, walking past the open door of the classroom. 

Mika had been heading down the hall to the bathroom, and before Midori could lose his chance, he whipped out a pen he had brought, wracking his brain for what to write and scolding himself for not planning this part of the plan earlier. He ended up messily doodling a carrot and waiting around the corner with bated breath. He heard Mika’s footsteps stop, and a laugh bubble up from somewhere. He nearly froze, twisting his neck to peer around the corner. There he was, staring at his arm, and there was the carrot. _I knew it,_ he thought with a mix of horror and accomplishment. He wasn’t as stupid as he thought, figuring it out. But he couldn’t stop staring at that look on Mika’s face, amused and a little fond. 

“Whassat all about? A carrot?” he muttered in a voice slathered in laughter. Taking out a pen himself from his bag, he doodled something in return; Midori felt the slight tingling of movement and peered down at his own arm to see a messy doodle of a cat face with a question mark next to it. 

Seemingly done, Mika rolled his sleeve back down and headed into the bathroom. Midori, not done with his processing, just stood, running over all the thoughts in his head. It was a sudden voice behind him that surprised him enough for him to choke on spit, coughing a bit before he managed to turn around. 

“So you’re Mika-chan’s soulmate, hm?”

It was the blonde classmate of Mika’s from before. Midori cursed himself for not being more careful. Was he really just super suspicious? Did he look like a stalker? Did he already mess up...?

The other, seeing his mild descent into panic, covered their mouth with a hand before laughing. “Oh my, you look so startled! You’re so tall, even though you’re a first year, hm?” They smiled, though their eyes still looked a bit more detachedly focused, looking him over as if with an x-ray. “So you’re Mika-chan’s soulmate, hm...” they repeated, as if to themself. “Do you like him?” The question was too upfront for his current state, and Midori spluttered a bit before nervously shrugging. 

“I-I don’t really know him well enough to say that...” Midori looked away uncomfortably, rubbing at his arm a bit. “I... don’t really know what to think about soulmates, but... I wanted to know if it was him, I guess,” he confessed. 

The other continued to stare, Midori squirming under their gaze, until they straightened up, sighing. “I get it. ‘I haven’t met mine, so I want to live freely until then~’... that kind of feeling.” A wistful kind of look that they laughed off. “Maybe that’s just me, though! Gosh, I think too much sometimes. Anyway...” Their gaze turned serious again. “If you get close to Mika-chan, be nice, okay?”

Midori didn’t have the heart to say “I nearly killed him with an onion and now he’ll be working at my house but I’ll try my best” when they were being so “overprotective parent” about it, so he just nodded. 

They sighed. “Good...” And then blinked as if realizing something. “My, I never introduced myself, did I? I’m Arashi Narukami, in the same class as Mika-chan and a member of Knights. Charmed ♪”

“Yeah...” Midori mumbled, wondering if they’d end up getting in his way again given their seeming closeness to Mika. “I’m Midori Takamine... um, from RYUSEITAI, as of recently...”

“I’ll see you later, then,” Arashi responded airily but friendlily, waving a hand as they walked away, presumably back to the classroom. Midori stood, a bit stunned, before realizing that Mika might appear any minute and rushing down the stairs. He would reconcile with the events of that hour later on, after he had eaten something.

-

“So, Mika-chan, have you ever met your soulmate?”

Arashi’s question was sudden, and as she stared at him innocently from where she leaned with a hand on her desk, the one behind his, Mika whipped around, heart suddenly pounding. “W-Wha,” he stammered, adjusting to be properly turned around in his seat. “N-Naru-chan, what’s that about? I haven’t met ‘em though, no...” He sighed. _Though that’s probably a good thing; what would they think about my eyes?_ He tilted his head to look curiously at her. “Have you?”

“I haven’t,” she responded in the same light tone that she had asked. She had a certain sparkle in her eye that meant she knew something, and Mika wasn’t sure he was going to like it. (...He trusted her, though. Sometimes-intrusive questions aside, she knew when to stop.) 

“Then why’re ya askin’?” He was still going to be curious.

She eyed him impassively, as if trying to decide what to express. “Just curious. Would you want to?” 

Mika laughed a bit sheepishly. “Aha... ‘m not sure? They’re not a real chatty type, y’see. ‘s not like when ya have those people who’re super close with theirs, ‘n then they meet ‘n it’s all great from there. So I don’t know ‘em too well...” He perked up a little. “Ah, they did draw me a lil carrot today, though! Maybe they were worried ‘cause I asked ‘em if they died.” 

Arashi’s scoff was a mix of fond and disbelieving. “ _Honestly_ , Mika-chan...”

“H-Hey, they hadn’t said anythin’ for a couple weeks ‘n I got nervous!” Mika protested feebly, turning back to face his desk with a _hmph_. 

“I was just teasing. Don’t worry, Mika-chan,” she soothed, and Mika sighed, laying his head down on the desk. 

“...I know.” 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and aside from Arashi’s characteristic fretting that he tried to calm, not much happened. It was at the end of the school day that he remembered that today would be the day he’d start working at the greengrocery. Breathing in and out, he ran his fingers over the material of vest reassuringly. _It’ll be fine. Let’s just do our best!_

As he started to leave the grounds, he noticed that Midori was as well, quickly walking over to him. The other seemed to be in a bit of a daze, putting one foot before the other but not really watching his surroundings. Mika figured this could end badly, but tried anyway. “H-Hey, Midori-kun,” he greeted. Midori proceeded to show his surprise in a vicious shudder that probably meant that he was too rooted to the ground in fear to even jump. (It would for him, at least.) 

When Midori was able to speak again, his voice was still a bit shaky. “K-Kagehira-senpai... hello.” He hesitated for a moment before seeming to remember. “Ah... you’re coming to work.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Mika nodded anyway. 

“So I was thinkin’ that since we’re goin’ the same way, wouldn’t hurt to go together,” Mika explained, hands back to his vest. 

Midori’s eyes slid towards them. _A nervous habit?_

“If... if ya didn’t mind,” Mika finished.

“...” A moment. “...Sure.” Midori continued to walk as if he hadn’t been stopped, trying not to be too conscious of Mika near-scampering along beside him. The silence continued until they reached the store, but settled into a more comfortable one partway as the two watched the sky steadily become tinged with orange, clouds wisping and colored by the sun. They arrived together, Mika trying to let Midori in because it was his house and Midori trying to let Mika in since he was technically a guest. All that resulted was them standing outside the door staring awkwardly at each other until an unfamiliar voice called that they were taking too long. 

Entering revealed the store less busy than the last time Mika had been there, with an older boy with glasses currently at the counter. He beckoned Midori over, and while they talked, Mika looked around the store to see if there was anything that visibly needed to be done. It was fairly small, but still packed with many varieties of greens and other things. With fluorescent light panels on the ceiling, it was well-lit as well. A green curtain covered what appeared to be a staircase that presumably lead to everyone’s rooms, and he saw the person with glasses disappear up it as he looked around. Midori returned, looking just a bit grumpy as he gestured to the now-empty counter. 

“My brother was just watching it until we got back, so... good luck.”

Mika responded with a small fist pump. “‘m on it!” Midori seemed to smile a bit before catching himself, coughing into his hand before nodding and heading off to what seemed to be his usual duties, like restocking the produce. Mika took his place at the counter, determined. He wouldn’t let himself be defeated! 

That continued for a few hours, the outside of the shop visibly darkening through the doors, until Midori flipped the open/closed sign on the door with a sigh. He turned to Mika, noting they were the only two there, and nodded wearily. “We’re done... You can go home now, but...” He glanced outside. “It’s really dark, so... do you need any help getting home...?”

Mika hastily shook his head. “Nah, don’ worry ‘bout it; my apartment’s real close to both here ‘n the school, so... ‘s convenient.”

“Sounds like it,” Midori replied, even-voiced. He seemed to be thinking, planning; Mika wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to keep talking and interrupt him. He started to walk towards the door before Midori stepped towards him, looking pale from nervousness. “Um,” he croaked, looking like he was going to regret everything that happened in the next few minutes. “You see...” He hesitated as if wondering how to execute whatever he was planning before sliding his sleeve up and grabbing a pen, scribbling onto it. Mika tilted his head, a bit confused about why Midori was showing him a fairly classic action, until his own arm started to faintly tingle with the signal of a message. Staring at Midori, wide-eyed, he turned his back to him and looked at his arm with trepidation. There it was;

[...I’m your soulmate.]

“...Is that okay?” Mika wondered aloud. _You’re a nice kid... and I’m a monster._

“I guess we’ll have to see...” Midori responded simply, feeling as if the anxiety had all culminated and dissolved into a pool of nothing, sapping all his reactions. He felt exhausted. _It’s not like you can choose your soulmate, but you don’t seem like a criminal, so..._ Would it be the wrong time to say that?

Mika felt unsteady. He had spent a long time wondering about what kind of soulmate he had been linked to. Knowing it was Midori wasn’t bad, but he still worried. How much bad luck would he cause him, with his monster eyes that had caused so many to shun him? He opened his mouth, then closed it. Would it be guilt tripping? Would it be asking too much?

So in the end, he took out a pen of his own, writing slowly. [Don’t you hate my eyes?]

And Midori looked at him, confused, and wrote back. [They’re pretty, so why would I?]

Sometimes, things were much easier to write than to say. It had been so simple. 

The relief Mika felt must have shown on his face, because Midori’s expression seemed to soften just a bit. Midori opened his mouth, but-

The scene was broken when Midori’s mother came in, carrying a bag that she tucked into a corner beside the counter. She glanced at the dark of the outside with mild distaste. “Kagehira-kun, how do you feel about staying for dinner? It’s always nice to have a new face over, and I’m always happy to have Midori’s friends over.”

The planned “We’re not really friends” died on Mika’s tongue as he considered it. The last thing he wanted to do was be a leech, but.... Midori hesitantly reached over, and without words, Mika accepted, throat tight, and followed the two into the room where the others were. It was warm, and as Mika’s unfamiliarity trickled from his expression, Midori watched. 

Whether the concept of soulmates was good or not, he still wasn’t sure.

Whether the concept of soulmates would redeem him, he wasn’t sure. 

But they’d have to figure it out together.


	5. Feathers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Following the prompt of a ship where one of them is a supernatural creature and the other is a hunter of those creatures, finding out that who they love is one of them. This is for round 3, just using a round 2 prompt.  
> I’m not really an angst or heartbreaking endings kind of creature, and I take comfort in midomika, so it will have a happier ending. This likely diverges from the intention, but that is okay.  
> They’re around college-age in this fic. Since college seems to have a lot of “I don’t even know how many years you’ve been going here we’re just in the same class” sorts of things, I changed Midori’s reference from the -senpai honorific.  
> I did some reading about the mythology of the mentioned beings and tactics, but feel free to mention if I have applied incorrect information.  
> Last piece for the ESO due to limited time but I’ll keep trying to post more midomika when I can... looks forlornly at my WIPs.  
> Like the previous chapter, this was hurried due to time limits, so I’ll be revising it later hopefully as well.  
> Full entry: https://esomain.dreamwidth.org/33832.html

Midori’s head snapped up from his desk, eyes bleary and throat gummy. Around him, his classmates were packing up, and he realized with slight dread that he had slept through another class. He yawned widely behind a hand outstretched to cover his mouth.

It was a pain, living a double life. He was from a line of proud tengu trackers, so as soon as he could read, he’d been surrounded by books about them, and inducted into the near-nightly lessons as soon as he was deemed old enough to retain them. Stories about how tengu bring war and try to hurt others, despite how they were often seen as protectors nowadays, leading to the classes about how to track them, determine their morality, and if necessary, kill them if they posed any continuing danger to humans. And if that wasn’t tiring enough, he also had to go to this civilian college during the day, posted here in order to catch any mischievous creatures masquerading as humans.

He sighed, stifling another yawn. How was he supposed to remember all that supernatural stuff _and_ keep his grades up in human school?

He heard a laugh from beside him and blinked sleepily at the figure. It was one of his classmates, Mika, who seemed to be snickering at how fluffy and disorderly his hair had become during his nap. Midori sighed.

“Hey, Kagehira-kun...” he greeted, leaning back in his chair, mind still fuzzy. “Did I miss anything important during the lecture...?”

Mika grinned at him, seemingly done with teasing. “Nah, not really. Here’re my notes if ya wanna see ‘em, though?”

“You are a godsend...” He flopped back onto the desk into folded arms as Mika brought out his notebook, flipping to the correct page. Midori fished his phone out of his pocket and took as stable as a picture as he could with his sleep-shaken hands to review later. When he turned back to Mika, the other’s mouth had twisted into a bit of a concerned frown.

“Shouldn’t ya start goin’ to bed earlier? Ya always look exhausted,” he noted, leaning back on the table as he watched him.

 _I wish I could,_ Midori thought tiredly, but tried his best to smile up at Mika regardless. “I’ll do my best, but I’m always tired anyway...” He stood up, gave the notebook to Mika, and put his phone back in his pocket, grabbing his backpack and pulling it over his shoulder, the small carrot mascot he had attached to its zipper thumping against his side. “Anyway, my next class is soon, so... I should go.”

Mika smiled at him in that gentle but incomprehensible way he sometimes did, eyes crinkling. “Yep, see ya.”

Ugh, he was so _cute_.

 _I can’t get distracted by this, though,_ Midori reminded himself, dragging his fatigued self through the door into the hallway. This was just a cover, and even if he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he felt bad lying to Mika.

He just needed to get through the rest of his few required classes so he could go home and finally sleep.

-

He woke to a shrill alarm that pierced through the artificial darkness of his blackout shades and brought a pounding headache to the front of his attention. He groaned, burying his head under his pillow miserably, before launching himself into a sitting position. It was time for night classes, and he forced himself to sluggishly make himself halfway presentable before dragging himself out the door, down the stairs, and through the already-darkened streets to make his way to class.

Today’s topic was apparently telling tengu apart by appearance and intention. Midori dubiously wondered if he’d be able to retain much more than he had during college classes.

The instructor tapped a diagram on the blackboard with a pole. “As something like shapeshifters, tengu can take on many different forms,” he began, tapping at two diagrams that could look like humans if Midori squinted from where he sat. “But they primarily take on the forms of humans. Before, it was done mainly to trick people and lure them into danger, but as the world shifts more towards urbanization in wider areas, it is known that some tengu will attempt to take on more neutral human forms and remain in them in order to sink their claws into human institutions.”

Uneasy murmuring sprung from the cracks around the room, and Midori sighed.

“For this reason, we sometimes assign trackers to various locations in order to observe the people there and determine whether any tengu are hiding in plain sight.”

 _I know, I’m one of them,_ he thought dryly.

Changing the direction of his pole to another diagram, the instructor tapped at a set of images Midori was even more familiar with, in a way that made him wonder why the lessons repeated things so often for the whole class rather than splintering off the beginners into a separate room so they could tackle the basics for the fifth time and he could sleep instead of being here as some kind of “mentor” for the more unsure. “Though tengu have had multiple different base forms, they are often seen as the taller red-faced ones, daitengu, or the more bird-like, especially crow-like, ones; kotengu, or karasutengu. As one would expect, daitengu tend to be more powerful, but they can sometimes be reasoned with; kotengu tend to be more likely to be malicious, so watch out for them.”

 _I hope I don’t meet one..._ Midori grumbled internally, wearily. _It’s not like I have any knack for this... even if my family wants me to continue on their line of work, it’s not like I’m good at it._ He flopped down to rest his head in his arms, trying to look as awake as he could after his measly nap.

-

Midori continued his routine as usual, watching out for things in the college as best he could with his fitful periods of sleep. The sooner he could be given some respite from his post and get back to sleeping as much of the day as he could, the better.

He fixed the angle of his backpack on his shoulder and turned to go to his first class before pausing suddenly. Among the ordinary crows that had gathered in the courtyard as usual sat Mika, who seemed to be crooning at them affectionately. They were more unafraid of him than one would expect; sure, they were used to humans, having shared the space with them for so long, but it was rare that Midori had seen them so friendly and willing to tolerate such a close proximity.

He didn’t like the suspicion gnawing at the edges of his mind.

He had probably stared for a bit too long, though, because Mika glanced up, seeing him and throwing him a friendly smile that shouldn’t have clenched his heart as much as it did. Midori waved hesitantly in response, and Mika stood up, brushing what looked like crumbs off his pants and into the crowd of crows, who gave him an uneven series of rough chirrups before plucking them off the ground.

“Mornin’, Midori-kun,” he called, strolling over. Midori dipped his head uncomfortably in response.

“Good morning...” He hesitated. “...Do you like crows?”

Mika tilted his head as if confused about the relevance of the question, but nodded. “Yep. They’re real smart lil birds, y’see.”

Midori nodded with mounting dread. “I see...”

Mika looked at him curiously, eyes searching, but didn’t pry. Instead, he changed the subject. “Anythin’ yer plannin’ to do after classes? Yer always draggin’ yerself off campus lookin’ exhausted, but ya ever go out ‘n do anythin’?”

The flow of conversation made Midori anxious, but he tried to stumble through it. “N-Not much, just...” _Sleeping... going to secret classes... nothing out of the ordinary. _He tried to think of something genuine, though, if only to fight off the guilt he felt for lying. “...I’m going to go to downtown today... to a mascot shop.”__

__Mika brightens at that. “Those cute lil guys ya like carryin’ around on yer bag?” Midori nodded, which seemed to make Mika only more enthusiastic. “Ya mind if I come with ya? ‘m always lookin’ for somethin’ cute ‘n scary for myself ‘n my sister.”_ _

__Midori nodded again, hesitantly. “...I guess. So you have a sister...?”_ _

__“Yep. She’s a lil protective. ‘m fine, but I still wanna give her presents sometimes to thank her.” Mika grinned. Midori thought it was a bit like someone lit a flashlight in his face._ _

_...He cares a lot for his sister, huh,_ Midori thought distantly. _...When was the last time I thanked my brother for his help before?_

__“Let’s meet after classes, then,” he said out loud, mentally running through his schedule. “I’m done at 1:30 PM today...”_ _

__“‘m done by 1:00 PM, so I’ll wait for ya,” Mika replied amiably, pulling his bag closer as well._ _

__“...You don’t have to,” Midori tried, but Mika shook his head._ _

__“Nah, I wanna! I wanna learn more ‘bout what ya like, too,” he replied cheerfully, and Midori wasn’t sure if he was referencing his earlier question or not. He tried to meet Mika’s smile at least a bit, despite the jitters in his stomach and self-consciousness he felt._ _

__“...See you, then.”_ _

__“Yep!”_ _

__And it became time for Midori’s despicable morning history class, which was _incredibly_ difficult not to sleep through._ _

____

-

In downtown, Mika seemed to be intrigued by many of the items displayed in the store windows, eyes sparkling as he poked at a gleaming bell in one shop, fiddled with a metal keychain in another. Midori had only really planned to go to his usual shop in the central square and then go home to pas out, but Mika’s worrisome and endearing curiosity kept him from complaining as the two made their way through the relatively-empty streets. It was the middle of the day on a weekday, after all; those who loitered were mainly fellow students like themselves and some children accompanied by tired-looking parents. By the time they reached the shop, nearly an hour had gone by, and while Midori was getting tired, Mika showed few signs of it save for his seemingly-growing nervousness as he cast occasional glances over his shoulder and towards the people who passed them.

Midori didn’t want to see it. Maybe it was just plain anxiety; he himself felt ice hiss at his muscles when someone stared too long, a curious child’s gaze at his height or at his companion’s eyes, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched to argue the same for Mika. Maybe his training was just getting to him.

And when Mika turned to him again, eyes bright and pointing out the large variety of regional mascots the niche shop had, Midori could just stare at his dual-colored eyes, so like some of the mascots he was fond of, and his hair that never looked brushed but still managed to perfectly frame them, and the little fangs that showed when he smiled widely. He _really_ didn’t want to be suspicious of him; not Mika, who hadn’t shown a hint of malice to him in the few months they’d been classmates, not any of the times they had met with a mere greeting as they passed each other between classes.

Mika closed his eyes as the breeze rolled past, stirring his hair. Midori could see content on his face.

He kind of regretted letting him come along.

-

Due to the tengus’ strange dislike of buddhist monks, they were known to have a penchant for messing with (at best) or destroying (at worst) buddhist temples. One of the things the trackers were trained for, then, was the protection of these temples, with arms that would work to slice through the wind that the tengu often used for offense.

It was for this reason that Midori found himself miserably stationed in the 2 AM cold at the Hasumi temple.

It had been a grumpy but well-known art student, Keito, who had approached him after history class to beckon him into an unoccupied corner. Midori had been terrified, but to his defense, Keito was known for his sharp tongue, and during the one group project the two were paired in together (a slideshow to teach their classmates about one of the wars covered during the course of the class), Midori had received enough scathing comments to last him a lifetime. He felt sincere pity for anyone else who had ever partnered with Keito Hasumi. But it had been then that Keito had handed him a letter, ordering him to only read it in a private place. The letter had, with all the official flourish of a formal request, been a request to guard the temple due to recent tengu sightings in the surrounding area, and for some reason, it had been _him_ of all people to receive it rather than the other, more experienced people in the group. 

Midori shivered. At least he could skip his night classes for as long as he had to be here. But next time, he was _definitely_ bringing a warmer jacket. He burrowed into his collar, squeezing his eyes shut against the chill.

It was then that he heard a rustle, immediately snapping to attention and nearly hitting his head on one of the columns supporting the overhang. Cursing under his breath, he strained his eyes into the darkness, barking a “Who’s there!?” into the night.

The shuffling stopped for a moment, and Midori continued to scan the landscape, heartbeat quick from the sudden movement. When the sounds began again, he saw the flash of feathers through the leaves, gritting his teeth and running towards them as quickly as his still-uncoordinated body could. As he rounded the bush, drawing his sword just in case, he found himself face-to-face with a startled karasutengu who was crouched there, still gripping onto a branch heavy with ripe berries, a couple in its hand and one in its beak.

The two stared at each other, frozen with surprise, but the tengu’s expression morphed into horror not a second later and it bolted, drawing a fan to give a single swipe that momentarily blinded Midori with a howling chill. Midori, too stunned to yell anything before it vanished, just stumbled back, blinking his stinging eyes and fumbling for his scabbard. Squinting into the dark where the tengu vanished, still winded from the slight drop to the grass, Midori groaned loudly, burying his face in his hands. Of course he had to have been right. Of course the classmate he liked was a _tengu_ of all things. Not even, you know, something like a kitsune or tanuki—beings not in his department, and therefore not his business—but a tengu, something his family had been involved in suppressing for generations.

Brushing off his pants and standing up, Midori sighed. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do when he next saw him.

-

Mika sat curled in the bushes, shivering and wrapping his large wings around himself to try and calm down. _I didn’t think he was one of them,_ he thought panickedly, straining his senses wider to see if he could pick up the other’s footsteps. But as the minutes passed, he still didn’t hear anyone coming after him, and confusedly unfurled from the ball of feathers he was previously. “What do I do...” he whimpered to himself, scanning the surroundings for somewhere to go. When he heard rustling, he was about to fly off again, but the only one who emerged from the branches was another karasutengu, all shiny plum-colored feathers and dual-colored eyes like his, just yellow and red. She landed next to him, limited expression displaying worry.

“You didn’t come back when you usually did, so I got worried,” she explained, turning back for a moment to smooth a ruffled feather on one of her wings. “Did something happen?”

Mika was tempted to lie to quell her worries, but he decided against it with a sigh. “‘m alright, Suzu-nee. ‘s just that I was gettin’ berries near that temple, ‘n one o’ those guys came at me with a sword...” His wings drooped, recalling who it had been. “Didn’ get me, though. I was real quick in gettin’ outta there, so ya don’t hafta worry.”

Suzu’s eyes narrowed, and she hissed with what was probably irritation. “Humans and their outdated ideas.” She spoke with contempt, but came forward to fuss with Mika’s feathers in a calming motion, smoothing the head feathers that had gotten untidy among the branches and wind. Mika closed his eyes and crooned, feeling his nerves settle despite the previous events. He didn’t know for sure if he and Suzu really were siblings, having grown up in different places, but when they had met, something about their similar eyes and ages despite their unfamiliarity had made them bond. He couldn’t imagine life without Suzu now, with all her combined strength and kindness towards him.

While he was in thought, Suzu had been observing his expression neutrally. It wasn’t the first time that one or both of them had had to run from hunters, or whatever they were calling themselves nowadays, but Mika seemed especially dejected about it this time, and she figured it wasn’t losing the berries. He knew she would uproot a bush if he wanted it. Looking at Mika’s distant eyes, she figured it was time for her to get to the bottom of this, whatever it was. But first, she paused in her grooming, meeting his eyes. “Did you see what that guy looked like?”

Mika stiffened, looking away. “N-Nah.” His voice wavered.

Suzu sighed. He _sucked_ at lying.

“No point in goin’ after ‘em anyway, though,” he added quickly. “Not like they hurt me...”

Suzu smiled in a way Mika wasn’t sure how to interpret. “I won’t. Don’t worry, Mika.”

Mika nervously grumbled in response.

-

Midori hadn’t been sure what to do about what he discovered about Mika, but it looked like the awkward class encounter he was dreading wasn’t going to happen. He hadn’t seen Mika for a week since then, and he was growing more nervous by the day as his dozens of scenarios fizzled into failures.

That morning, though, he noticed something a little odd as he entered one of his morning classrooms, planning to review a bit before class started and he was doomed to be lost as always. A girl he didn’t recognize was spinning in one of the elevated chairs, a bored expression on her face. _Did someone transfer into the class this late...?_ he wondered idly, taking a seat in his usual place and deciding to ignore her, trying not to pay attention to the nervousness that built up more thickly in his chest as he noticed her two-colored eyes, different from Mika’s.

He glanced away, but he couldn’t fight the discomfort, remaining distracted even as the rest of the students numbly filed in and the professor took their place at the desk by the board. He could feel the girl’s stare sweeping the classroom every so often, and when he dared peek back to see for sure, she had her eyes firmly narrowed at a different student. Once, it was him. He quickly turned back to face the board.

It was the end of the class when the teacher called roll-call. This was why, despite it being an annoying class with several assignments that sounded utterly pointless, the students were slightly fond regardless; at least the professor wasn’t extremely strict about lateness. Midori couldn’t help but look up quickly when Mika’s name was called, glancing around the classroom just in case he hadn’t noticed him, and that was when he felt the girl’s stare fix onto him like a target. He froze.

_Please let it just be a coincidence..._

Unfortunately, fate wasn’t so kind to him, and as class dismissed, the girl stood up, making a beeline towards where he sat. She glanced at the backpack almost smugly as she spotted the carrot mascot. “Cute mascot toy,” she remarked with no warmth.

“Thanks?” Midori squeaked in return.

Her face turned serious. “I’ll get to the point,” she said flatly, leaning closer. “If you hurt Mika, second strongest fallen angel of this realm, I will send the genocide dragon to devour your soul.”

_Genocide dragon!?_

“That is to say, I’ll kill you,” she added helpfully.

“I’d... prefer it if you didn’t,” Midori replied weakly, too stunned to give a more fitting response. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Suzu scoffed at the statement. “He said you came at him with a _sword_. I know of your hellish, wind-killing weapons.”

“I didn’t know who it was!” Midori protested. “It was the middle of the night, and I just saw feathers...” He was still trying to keep his voice at least somewhat quiet, the few classmates who were taking a while to pack up too far away to properly listen in but at the same time too close for comfort. He squirmed, hoping the conversation ended soon.

“But you’re a hunter, right?” Suzu asked, hands on her hips and jewel-like eyes boring into Midori like a drill.

“You mean a tracker?” Midori ventured, mildly unnerved by the use of the name they apparently had at least a generation before their current one, intended to be more neutral. Just how long had this tengu been around?

Suzu waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever. You’re all a danger to tengu. I won’t let you hurt my brother.”

“Ah, so _you’re_ his sister...” Midori mumbled, more to himself than to her.

Suzu gave him a dirty look that he approximated to “and why do _you_ know that” before she nodded sagely. “Yeah, I’ll kill you.”

Midori spluttered. “Can we stop talking about killing!?”

Suzu tilted her head in a birdlike manner. “But that’s what you do to tengu?”

Midori shook his head a bit helplessly. “No, at least not for a long time, unless they attack us first... And I never have. I was just guarding the temple and got spooked when I saw the feathers...”

Suzu eyed him in quiet suspicion. Midori gazed back with what was probably fear.

Finally, Suzu seemed to concede, stepping back and allowing Midori to breathe. “Fine,” she decided, a hand still on her hip. “But the killing threat is still valid.”

Midori sighed, clutching onto the carrot mascot for a sense of comfort. “...I just want to be his friend.”

Suzu gave him a pointed look. “Prove it.”

“...How?”

She gave him a glare. “How am I supposed to know? Just do it.” Throwing up a hand in what Midori supposed was an irritated wave, she threw out a “Bye” and stalked out of the room, leaving Midori both a bit speechless and surrounded by his still-out school supplies. 

“B-Bye...” he echoed in a too-late reply, taking a moment to sigh and process before he got up, dragging himself out of the room as the next class’s students already began to trickle inside. 

...What a pain.

-

At night classes that evening, a non-lecture class that he had been requested to appear at, Midori was stuck helping one of the very new recruits, a boastful girl with pink hair who seemed to be struggling with properly handling the wind-cutting sword despite her determination. She seemed to fare much better with the smaller knife-like blades, a weapon in both hands as she whirled in a tornado of her own. Midori was really just trying his best not to die.

After that ordeal, sitting on the bench near the practice ring and trying to catch his breath, he saw the instructor put on his jacket, preparing to leave for the night. Midori stood up hastily despite his remaining fatigue, wheezing from the swift change in altitude, and came to meet the instructor as soon as he could. “E-Excuse me...” he started, trying not to shrivel as the oft-strict gaze fixed on him. “I just... had a question.”

The instructor nodded, though looked as if he had plenty to say at the interruption when he was finally able to start returning home. “Yes, Takamine-kun?”

Midori tried to swallow down his anxiety and force himself to speak. “...Why do tengu all have to be monitored in our system or killed? It just seems...” His voice died as he hesitated, unsure of what exactly to say, and the instructor gave him a disdainful look. He slouched a bit more, retreating into his shoulders.

“I would’ve thought with all your training, you would have been knowledgeable enough in this by now,” the instructor sighed, bringing a hand to his head as if nursing a headache. “While some tengu _can_ be benevolent to a degree, they are few and far between, as we have discussed; they are historically prideful and long-lived, and there is no telling when one may decide to change its opinions on humans and begin to wreak havoc on society. Lesser tengu and their typically feral natures have caused many an injury to those in this area.” He gave Midori a suspicious look. “Have you grown to sympathize with them?”

“No,” Midori replied honestly; even if Mika was a tengu, he was the only tengu he had ever interacted with so personally, and he had seen evidence himself of what tengu had done to the locals and his peers over the years. Another instructor that they sometimes saw even had a scar over his eye that had supposedly been gained from the edge of a tengu’s fan. Still, he hesitated, looking away. “...But if they can disguise as humans so effectively that they can’t be told apart from actual humans, for the most part... aren’t they sentient? Like... more than just monsters.” A silence greeted him when he finished, and he cringed, expecting another lecture. But when he peeked back up at the instructor, his face was thoughtful.

“It sounds like you’ve met a tengu,” he said plainly, and Midori hoped his face was as neutral as he was struggling to make it. “A teacher’s duty is to guide their students, but students must then make a decision for themselves.” He fixed Midori with a piercing gaze. “You will remain stationed at the temple. I hope you are able to defend it properly.”

“I will,” Midori replied in almost a whisper, but raised his voice in a final question: “Isn’t there any way to know if they’re good or not?”

“You can never know their true intentions,” the instructor replied simply, picking up the roll call clipboard for a last check. “And that is why they are watched, and not just left to their own devices.”

Midori nodded, and the instructor left the room, seemingly in thought. He hoped those thoughts weren’t about him; the conversation could have gone worse, but it could have also gone better, and he cringed again, hoping his family wouldn’t find out. If those fanatics ever found out he met a tengu and didn’t fulfill either of his possible duties (recording or neutralizing), they’d have his head.

-

Midori was free from all his classes the next day, taking the time to collapse on his bed and sleep like a corpse. Despite that, when his alarm rang, he woke up feeling like he’d barely slept at all, and yesterday’s conversation immediately wormed itself back into his brain, making him feel even more tired than he already did. He sighed heavily, half-heartedly smoothed his hair, and got into uniform, which consisted of dark clothing with an emblem on the chest pocket that portrayed two different masks and a sword, similar to the one that he securely strapped to his side. Exiting his room, he tried to be quiet, but it seemed for naught as his brother, room door open, spotted him walking down the hallway. He glanced at his uniform and gave him a thumbs up. Midori weakly gave a thumbs up in return before continuing to leave the house, starting the relatively short walk to the temple on the hill.

 _I wonder if Mika will show up again,_ he thought, unsure exactly how he was feeling. Between affection that made his chest feel sick, the threats from his sister, and the coldness of his instructor, he didn’t know what the “right” thing to do would be. _I don’t want to hurt him._

But as he stood at his post, dim despite the moonlight, he heard rustling from elsewhere, a soft whoosh and steps. He snapped his head in their direction, opening his mouth to call: “Mik-”

But the eyes that glared at him from right before his face where they pounced weren’t Mika’s, and his blood ran cold as he saw the pure hatred in that glowing amber. Midori stumbled back with a noise of alarm, and he saw a fan flash in front of him, flying back to hit the floor a few feet away. He stood up, grimacing, and unsheathed his sword as quickly as he could in preparation. The tengu snarled in response to seeing it, pointing the fan at him again. 

“I’ll avenge my brother,” they snarled, lunging at him. Midori barely dodged, jumping clumsily to the side. “The one you hunters killed all those years ago!”

“I-I didn’t kill him, though!?” Midori protested, sword slicing through the wind that was beginning to build up before him as the tengu whipped it into a spiral. 

“As if that’d matter?” The tengu said, voice dripping with contempt. “All you ‘hunters’ and humans are all the same; you’ll destroy everything you don’t like!”

“We’re not-” Midori began to say again, and the tengu sprang without stopping to listen. Midori, already in an awkward position, placed his sword in front of him and braced himself for impact. It never came as a ball of feathers and cloth slammed into the other tengu, forcing them to let out a loud squawk of surprise as they tumbled to the side. 

They whirled up to face the other, furious. “You traitor! Why are you defending a hunter!?”

“M-Midori-kun’s different!” the other protested, and Midori realized with a mix of horror and relief that it was Mika, in tengu form like before. 

_I’m glad he’s okay..._ Midori thought, but quickly realized this was a bad time, focusing again at the two.

“What proof do you have of that?” The unfamiliar tengu challenged, and Mika hesitated, making the other sneer. “...You better not regret your decision.” They stood up, placing the fan back into a pouch after a glare in Midori’s direction. “I’ll still get revenge against another human, so... keep your pet.”

“W-Wait-” Midori tried to speak again, but the other lifted off on powerful, large wings that momentarily blocked out the moonlight above. It gave him a last baleful glance before leaving, taking only a moment to vanish among the trees. 

Mika glanced at him. “Yer jus’ an exception, ‘n I know that.” A bit of a threat. 

“Really, not all humans are like that...” Midori tried again, but his legs wobbled from a lull in the exertion and he slumped down, quickly followed by Mika, who was apparently more tired than he looked from the small altercation. They sat for a while in the aftermath, quiet. 

Midori was the first to break the awkward silence as they both sat on the wooden planks of the patio, both still catching their breath. “T...Thank you,” he mumbled, looking away but still able to see Mika’s form in his peripheral vision. “For saving me...” 

Mika uttered a noncommittal hum in response, still a bit hunched over where he sat. 

“...You weren’t scared?” Midori tried again. 

Mika looked at him. Midori wondered about all that was missing from his classes; there was so much to fear, so much about battle, and nothing about how to read a tengu’s expression. He felt lost as he turned his head to stare back into Mika’s eyes. They, at least, remained somewhat similar to the Mika he knew, and that was some comfort among the cold. 

“I was scared,” Mika whispered, beak and all, and Midori wondered how they made the same sounds as humans with mouths that looked so different. “But I couldn’t let ya get hurt...”

“...I appreciate it,” Midori replied awkwardly. He tried to listen for anything else that could be creeping up on them, but he didn’t pick anything up, so he continued. “You’re a tengu, but... you’re not like the ones I’ve learned about.”

Mika scoffed. “I dunno what they’re teachin’ ya, but most of us jus’ mind our own business in the mountains, y’know?”

Midori shrugged, and the two remained in silence for a bit more before Midori spoke again.

“...What now?”

Mika shrugged as well, wings moving alongside the movement, and Midori looked, fascinated at how the feathers came together, ruffled as they were. “Dunno. Yer not gonna kill me or somethin’?”

“Is that a joke?” Midori asked a bit weakly. “You didn’t try to hurt anyone, so no...”

“And the other tengu?” Mika challenged. 

Midori shrunk a bit helplessly. “I mean, I understand why they were so angry... I probably have to report them, but I’ll see if I can talk to the others...” He sighed, looking down. “...If he’s killed, that just proves his point...”

Mika was quiet in response to that, as if mulling over the response. “What are you going to do with me, then?”

“Preferably nothing...” Midori mumbled. “They tell us to report any unregistered tengu we see so their appearance and behavior can be written down as a reference, but... then they get a tracker assigned to them. I don’t want to hurt you. You’re a good perso-... crow?”

Mika laughed a bit at the correction, stretching his wings for a moment to tuck them back into place before his face grew neutral again. “‘n that tracker’d hurt us?” His voice was bordering resignation. 

“I don’t know... everyone’s different, after all,” Midori responded honestly. “I... wouldn’t mind being assigned to you, though,” he admitted, looking away. “We could go to the shop again...”

He heard scuffling from where Mika sat and glanced back, seeing the tengu adjust himself into a more normal sitting position, claws scrabbling a bit at the floor. “Guess it’s a date, then.”

It was said so casually that Midori spluttered, turning to him fully, but Mika’s eyes were crinkled slightly as if amused. “...Sure,” Midori responded softly, moment only dulled by the sting of cold metal at his side. “...It’s a date.”

...It could take a while, but he wouldn’t let them hurt Mika. That was one thing he was sure of, as even as a tengu, the other smiled, fan sheathed at his belt and feathers lightly illuminated under the moon. _It’s a promise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters I included without naming; a short appearance for Tori’s sister, and the instructor is based on Kunugi.


End file.
